New Search Planned for Rutgers Student Missing Nearly a Year
Family and friends organize a community search on the anniversary of Mortimer Wortman's disappearance, citing frustration with the official investigation.
A new community search is scheduled to take place next month as part of the ongoing effort to find Mortimer Mekhai Wortman IV, a 22-year-old Rutgers University student who has been missing from New Jersey for nearly a year.
Wortman was last seen on surveillance footage on the evening of November 21, entering a vehicle driven by Adam Zalouk, an individual who had previously threatened Wortman with a knife and carved the word "slut" into Wortman's car. Zalouk reported Wortman missing the following day.
In a 911 call, Zalouk stated, "Around 10:30 or 11, we had an argument in the car and said he would rather walk home and he stormed out and just kinda disappeared into the trees." According to Wortman's friend Nicholas Moccio, the surveillance footage of Wortman's last known sighting has not been released to the public or Wortman's family.
Wortman's mother, Johanna Reyes, was expecting her son home on the day he disappeared. His vehicle's GPS indicated he was en route home when he stopped at the Regional Day School, where he was last seen. "It's been 11 months. The same information that I got from day one is still the only information I have," Reyes told NJ.com.
In April 2026, Zalouk pleaded guilty to threatening Wortman and damaging his car, reportedly after Wortman declined Zalouk's sexual advances. He was ordered to pay $2,783 to Wortman's mother.
Community Search Efforts
Wortman's friends and family are organizing another community search on November 21, 2026, exactly one year after his disappearance. Participants are set to gather at the Regional Day School in Jackson, New Jersey, to search the wooded areas surrounding the location where Wortman was last seen.
Moccio has been vocal about the perceived neglect in the official response to Wortman's disappearance. During a town council meeting in October, Moccio stated, "Do you know what it's like to see your best friend's mom digging through brush and dirt in the middle of the night alone, calling out his name hoping somehow he'll hear her calls?"
Moccio recounted finding an "eight-inch knife in a black leather sheath on Highbridge road, the only road that leads to Morty's last known location, 500 feet away from Morty's car parked in the school lot," within 30 minutes. He argued that police had eight hours before the community search began and should have found it.
Social media updates and a website, Bring Morty Home, have been used by Wortman's family and friends to share information about search efforts. A GoFundMe campaign has also been initiated by Wortman's brother, Ivan Marks, to fund the search operations.
Moccio has shared videos allegedly showing Jackson Police Department officers laughing during a search, and a photo that he claims depicts Zalouk's father tearing down Wortman's missing posters.
"It's been 327 days. No updates, no sight of Morty, no suspects named, too many lies to count," Moccio said at the council meeting. "We still need help because we haven't gotten the help we need."